Motor-Assisted Cruiser Bike

This design wasn't quite fast enough (the motor was about 250 watts, and the battery was 12V/18A-hrs in capacity). So we added another battery (in series), and reduced the gearing on the motor a bit. But we didn't reduce it enough, and the motor bogged down too long once and it overheated. As he walked the smoking bike home, Mike resolved to make a few design changes on the next revision.

Go-Kart Upgrade

My youngest son, Tim, and I worked on an old go-kart. We added a roll-cage, fibreglass bucket seat, custom-fabricated steering wheel, and some bright paint.

Later I added shocks, disk brake, and a live axle---which took over 40 hours of cutting and machining custom parts, welding, grinding, priming, and finally painting. It's now a partially-suspended, two-wheel drive off-road machine (not a girly one-wheel-drive street kart).

Motor-Assisted Trike

Last winter and spring I designed and built a three-wheeled hybrid---with electric motor and pedals.

Initial short-wheelbase, fat-tired version.

Longer mock-up, for higher speeds.

Current incarnation.

• Larger 16-inch rear tires (lower friction). • Under-seat steering (comfort, safety). • Disk brake (safety). • Single chain (fewer parts). • 0.8-hp electric motor (comfort, range, speed). • Lead-acid batteries (20-mile range?).

This current wheelbase and steering let it turn sharply, which is great for low-speed navigation. However, that also means that it tips over rather easily at higher speeds. So I'm going to put the larger front wheel back on and lengthen the wheelbase, to make it more stable at higher speeds. To date, I've only tested this up to about 20 mph, which is fast enough for a tip-over and resultant nasty road rash. So longer and more stable it will become. I don't really see a need for a tight turning radius, but after riding it more I might change my mind. I see now how incredibly difficult it is to make vehicles for multiple, divergent situations.

I will likely be adding a "gas tank" (for show, and to store non-fuel things). I still need to add chains, brakes, and motor, and then hook up the electronics. It's not what I'd envisioned—these things sometimes take on a personality of their own! I regret that I used that narrower front wheel, because it will not be as snow-worthy as the bike I'd initially envisioned. I was impatient and got lazy and used a wheel that I could easily attach a disk brake to, rather than using a fatter wheel with no brake (which would require me fabricating the disk attachment).

This designing and building vehicles is not as easy as it would seem, especially when you start adding motors and want them to work in slippery situations. I have increased respect for vehicle designers. I also note that I don't know of anyone else who is working on bicycles designed for icy conditions, so I'm on my own for design ideas as well as many parts. It's very challenging, which is fun—but also frequently overwhelming. But it's not stopped my experimentation. Someday... I'll be ridin' through the snow, smiling smugly as people all cooped up in their oversized, overpowered, fuel-suckin' SUVs blow past me. Just hope one of them doesn't run me over because they're distracted by talkin' on their cell phone and sippin' on a hot latte! Hmmm. I think the next prototype needs a hot-drink holder, and maybe a hook-up for some battery-powered underwear. Oh yeah. I feel warmer already.

Here is my current mountain bike.

Here's my current road bike. It's actually a cyclocross bike, but I have it set up more for commuting (32mm tires, and will soon put on a back rack and paniers—french for "baskets"—which are nylon bags for carring stuff like extra clothes and books and probably a laptop computer).

I cut off the back of the frame, welded up a custom rack, and cut the old seat in half to make a more sleek solo seat. The red tank also helped, I think.

My MZ motorcycle (black bike below) is pretty fun. It's a single-cylinder, 660cc machine. Classified as a "naked sport", it's pretty fast but doesn't have the full fairings of a true "sport bike".

I bought this Chinese 150cc dual-sport motorcycle in July, 2008.

It was fun, but didn't go fast enough (only 45mph). So I traded it for the little black scooter (below the Kawasaki shown next) and a little kayak.

I bought this Kawasaki 250cc dual-sport motorcycle in August, 2008.

I didn't like the simple blue colors that accented the boring white tank and fenders. I thought it looked like a big toy. So I bought some black and green paint, and made some changes.

I don't like it that much more, but it doesn't seem like a toy anymore. I will paint it again, perhaps metallic green, when the weather warms up.

Here's the 49cc scooter I got in a trade last fall.

It's fun, but doesn't get very good gas mileage---not for its size,anyway. It's only gotten about 75 mpg, which my KLR-250 (above) gets pretty regularly. I will adjust the carburetor, hoping that will improve its fuel-efficiency. If not, I'll likely tear off that 49cc motor and put it on a bicycle---and install an electric motor (and batteries) on this bad little girl.